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Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection Undergraduate Scholarship

2016

The Impact of Mindfulness Meditation on

Students' Creativity
Paige Poure
Butler University, ppoure@butler.edu

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Recommended Citation
Poure, Paige, "The Impact of Mindfulness Meditation on Students' Creativity" (2016). Undergraduate Honors Thesis Collection. 349.
https://digitalcommons.butler.edu/ugtheses/349

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The$Impact$of$Mindfulness$Meditation$on$Students’$Creativity$

A Thesis

Presented to the Department of Psychology

College of Liberal Arts and Sciences

and

The Honors Program

of

Butler University

In Partial Fulfillment

of the Requirements for Graduation Honors

Paige McGovern Poure

April 2016
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! Paige!Poure!2!

Abstract!

Researchers!have!suggested!a!link!between!mindfulness!meditation!and!

increased!creativity.!Specifically,!meditation!seems!to!promote!improved!divergent!

thinking!(Colzato!et!al.,!2012).!I!sought!to!better!understand!mindfulness!meditation!

and!creativity!by!addressing!the!differential!effects!of!brief!meditation!on!divergent!

and!convergent!thinking,!as!well!as!investigating!decreased!anxiety!and!increased!

executive!control!as!potential!mechanistic!mediators!of!this!relationship.!In!a!

laboratory!experiment!40!Butler!University!undergraduate!students!participated!in!

either!a!sham!or!mindfulness!meditation!exercise,!followed!by!several!creativity!

assessments!as!well!as!measures!of!anxiety!and!executive!control.!The!findings!

show!that!mindfulness!meditation!was!significantly!related!to!improved!

performance!on!a!divergent!thinking!task,!but!the!results!regarding!the!proposed!

mechanisms!were!inconclusive,!leaving!open!questions!regarding!what!exactly!is!

mediating!this!relationship.!

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! Paige!Poure!3!

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Introduction$
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Creativity,!or!the!capacity!to!generate!novel,!socially!valued!products!and!

ideas,!has!not!only!allowed!for!many!of!civilization’s!major!accomplishments,!from!

Michelangelo’s!masterpieces!to!the!invention!of!a!wheel,!but!is!also!necessary!for!

thriving!in!everyday!life.!Methods!capable!of!improving!creative!functioning!have!

the!potential!to!profoundly!increase!wellPbeing,!both!at!the!societal!and!individual!

level!(Kaufman!&!Sternberg,!2010).!In!this!context,!I!will!consider!the!promising!

relationship!between!mindfulness!meditation!and!creativity,!illustrated!by!several!

converging!lines!of!research!indicating!a!significant!causal!association.!Furthermore,!

the!potential!mechanisms!allowing!for!this!relationship!will!be!considered!including!

reduction!of!anxiety!and!improved!executive!function.!

Creativity$

The!concept!of!creativity!encompasses!an!array!of!definitions!and!

representations!in!research,!ranging!from!problem!solving!(Lubart,!1994)!to!

problem!finding,!or!“the!selfPinitiated!creation!of!problems.”(Getzels!&!

Czikszentmihalyi,!1976).!Some!have!suggested!that!creativity!is!the!ability!to!

generate!novel!and!socially!valued!ideas!(Mumford,!ReiterPPalmon,!&!Redmon,!

1994),!or!the!ability!to!think!beyond!the!boundaries!of!available!information!to!

produce!original!ideas!and!apply!them!in!a!valuable!way!(Horan,!2007).!However,!

according!to!Guilford!(1967),!creativity!can!best!be!understood!by!distinguishing!

between!its!two!components:!divergent!and!convergent!thinking.!Guilford!suggested!

that!these!two!styles!of!thinking!represented!different!creative!processes!that!
! Paige!Poure!4!

function!independently!of!each!other.!Divergent!thinking!consists!of!thinking!that!

supports!the!generation!of!many!new!ideas,!such!as!the!thought!processes!involved!

in!brainstorming!sessions.!Guilford!(1967)!assessed!this!style!of!thinking!with!his!

Alternate!Uses!Task,!in!which!participants!are!presented!with!an!object!and!asked!to!

generate!as!many!uses!for!the!object!as!possible.!Divergent!thinking!has!been!

consistently!linked!with!the!concept!of!the!creativity.!In!1987!McCrae!published!

results!that!linked!divergent!thinking!to!selfPreports!of!openness!to!experience!as!

well!as!high!scores!on!Gough’s!(1979)!Creative!Personality!Scale,!establishing!its!

role!in!assessing!creativity.!Convergent!thinking,!then,!is!the!process!of!generating!

one!specific!correct!solution!to!a!particular!problem!with!an!emphasis!on!accuracy!

and!logic.!Nonetheless,!it!is!thought!to!be!an!important!element!of!creativity,!serving!

as!a!check!to!balance!divergent!thinking!and!remain!focused!on!accuracy!(Cropley,!

2010).!To!evaluate!convergent!thinking,!Mednick!(1962)!devised!the!Remote!

Associates!Task,!which!involves!presenting!participants!with!three!seemingly!

unrelated!words!(i.e.!poke,!down,!motion)!for!which!they!must!find!a!common!

associating!word!(slow).!!

Mindfulness$Meditation$$

Mindfulness!meditation!is!a!relaxation!technique!utilizing!mindfulness,!or!

“the!detached,!nonPjudgmental!witnessing!of!thoughts,!feelings,!and!sensations,”!to!

promote!selfPawareness!of!one’s!own!experiences!(Horan,!2007).!The!traditional!

practice!of!mindfulness!is!historically!based!in!Buddhism!and!Eastern!traditions!

(Ostafin!&!Kassman,!2012).!However,!since!its!early!origins!in!the!Middle!Ages,!

mindfulness!has!been!spread!around!the!world!from!Asia,!to!Europe,!and!beyond!
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(Knight,!2009).!Modern!mindfulness!has!developed!into!a!practice!with!great!

potential!for!benefitting!overall!wellPbeing!(Davidson!et!al,!2003;!KabatPZinn,!1982).!

The!current!practice!can!be!defined!as!"!paying!attention!on!purpose,!in!the!present!

moment,!and!nonjudgmentally,!to!the!unfolding!of!experience!moment!to!

moment."(Baime,!2014).!Perhaps!the!best!way!to!understand!mindfulness!

meditation!is!by!experiencing!it!personally.!As!an!illustrative!example,!take!three!

minutes!to!focus!on!your!breathing.!If/when!your!thoughts!begin!to!wander!to!

things!like!“what!will!I!eat!for!dinner?”!or!“this!is!silly!and!I’m!bored,”!do!nothing!but!

observe!your!thoughts,!acknowledge!them!nonjudgmentally,!and!return!your!focus!

to!breathing.!!

A!recent!increase!in!scientific!attention!to!the!psychological!and!health!

benefits!of!mindfulness!meditation!has!allowed!for!a!greater!understanding!of!the!

practice.!Amid!the!large!and!growing!body!of!mindfulness!research!are!findings!that!

confirm!its!efficacy!in!stress!management!(Chiesa!and!Seretti,!2009),!reduction!of!

anxiety!(Dekeyser!et!al.,!2008),!improved!executive!functioning!(Temper!et!al.,!

2013),!cancer!related!fatigue(Johns!et!al.,!2015)!and!even!balancing!work!and!home!

life!(Allen!&!Kiburz,!2011).!Although!many!of!the!studies!addressing!the!impact!of!

mindfulness!meditation!employ!extensive!training!programs!to!teach!mindfulness!

to!participants!or!lengthy!meditation!sessions,!multiple!studies!have!also!shown!

significant!effects!from!very!brief!exposure!to!mindfulness!techniques!(Hoge!et!al.,!

2014!&!Lam!et!al.,!2015).!

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$Influence$of$Mindfulness$on$Creativity$$

Ostafin!and!Kassman!(2012)!found!that!individuals!possessing!greater!trait!

mindfulness!exhibit!greater!creative!abilities,!operationalized!as!high!scores!on!

insight!problem!solving!tasks.!Furthermore,!Horan!(2009)!used!

electroencephalogram!(EEG)!imaging!to!show!that!mindfulness!meditation!could!

“activate!weak!or!nonexistent!associations!leading!to!creative!inspiration”.!!

As!research!regarding!the!impact!of!mindfulness!on!creativity!accumulates,!it!

is!becoming!clear!that!the!relationship!is!complex.!Colzato!(2012)!and!colleagues!

have!done!a!considerable!amount!of!work!investigating!the!relationship!between!

meditation!and!the!two!types!of!creative!thinking!defined!previously:!divergent!and!

convergent!thinking.!They!examined!whether!focused!attention!(i.e.,!subjects!are!

directed!to!focus!their!attention!on!breathing!in!a!certain!way)!and!open!monitoring!

meditation!(i.e.!mindfulness!meditation)!have!differing!effects!on!creativity.!Open!

monitoring!meditation!induced!a!‘control!state’!that!promoted!divergent!but!not!

convergent!thinking.!Focused!attention!meditation!did!not!affect!divergent!or!

convergent!thinking,!although!the!researchers!had!expected!it!to!improve!

convergent!thinking.!In!a!follow!up!study,!Liplett!et!al.!(2014)!addressed!the!

influence!of!prior!meditation!practice!on!divergent!and!convergent!thinking!and!

found!similar!results:!regardless!of!participants’!level!of!meditation!experience,!

those!who!meditated!exhibited!greater!divergent!but!not!convergent!thinking.!!

Prior!research!suggests!that!mindfulness!affects!some!aspects!of!creativity,!

like!divergent!thinking,!more!strongly!than!others.!In!a!similar!manner,!individual!

mindfulness!skills!do!not!affect!creative!performance!uniformly.!Rather,!different!
! Paige!Poure!7!

specific!aspects!of!mindfulness!seem!to!be!differentially!related!to!creative!skills!

(Baas!et!al.,!2014).!Observation,!which!refers!to!the!ability!to!attend!to!various!

stimuli,!and!acting!with!awareness,!which!refers!to!focusing!one’s!attention!with!

complete!awareness,!both!seem!to!promote!creativity.!Other!aspects,!like!

description!and!accepting!without!judgment,!seem!to!have!minimal!impact!on!

creative!thinking.!Baas!et!al.!(2014)!have!suggested!that!observation!and!acting!with!

awareness!may!be!beneficial!because!they!enhance!cognitive!flexibility,!which!then!

enhances!executive!function—a!possible!mechanism!for!the!relationship!between!

mindfulness!meditation!and!creative!thinking.!

While!the!link!between!mindfulness!mediation!and!creativity!has!been!

reliably!established,!prior!research!offers!little!insight!into!the!specific!mechanisms!

responsible!for!the!relationship.!One!possible!mechanism!that!might!explain!

mindfulness’!impact!on!creativity!involves!executive!function.!Executive!function!

refers!to!a!variety!of!interrelated!processes!involved!in!planning!and!carrying!out!a!

task!(Flook!et!al.,!2010).!Executive!functions!encompass!several!processes!including!

working!memory,!flexible!thinking,!and!organization!(Teper!et!al.,!2013).!Because!of!

the!emphasis!on!attention!to!the!present!and!avoidance!of!judgment!included!in!

mindfulness!meditation,!it!is!reasonable!to!expect!that!practicing!meditation!fosters!

attentional!control!and!executive!control!(Teper!&!Inzlicht,!2012).!Research!strongly!

suggests!that!mindfulness!meditation!practice!is!related!to!improved!executive!

function,!which!allows!for!creative!processing.!For!example,!Horan!(2009)!found!

that!two!specific!operations!linked!to!executive!control,!transcendence!and!

integration,!help!to!explain!why!meditation!increases!creativity.!Transcendence!and!
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integration!refer!to!the!capacity!for!developing!novel!ideas!and!applying!them!in!

useful!ways.!Both!of!these!specific!executive!function!operations!are!crucial!to!

successful!creative!processing,!and!were!found!to!be!linked!to!meditation.!However,!

Horan!(2009)!also!reported!that!activation!of!the!prefrontal!cortex,!which!is!usually!

considered!a!physiological!indicator!of!executive!control,!was!actually!observed!less!

frequently!in!creative!individuals.!

Inhibition,!or!the!ability!to!think!before!acting!by!evaluating!one’s!situation!

and!possible!behavior,!is!an!important!executive!function!that!allows!for!effective!

use!of!several!other!higher!order!functions!(Dawson!&!Guare,!2004).!Ostafin!and!

Kassman!(2011)!demonstrated!the!positive!effects!of!trait!mindfulness!on!inhibition!

and!creative!processing!using!a!paradigm!involving!insight!problem!solving.!Ostafin!

and!Kassman,!when!explaining!their!results,!suggested!“an!aim!of!mindfulness!is!to!

limit!the!ability!of!automatically!activated!verbalPconceptual!content!derived!from!

past!experience!to!bias!thoughts!and!behavior”!(2011,!p.!1032).!This!ability!results!

in!improved!inhibition!of!distracting!thoughts,!implicating!executive!control!as!a!

potential!cause!of!increased!creativity!resulting!from!mindfulness!(Shapirio!2006;!

Baas!et!al.,!2014).!!

Other!recent!research!also!supports!a!positive!association!between!inhibition!

and!creativity!(Benedek!et!al.!2014).!In!fact,!Benedek!and!colleagues!looked!at!three!

different!executive!functions,!including!inhibition,!and!assessed!their!differential!

relations!to!intelligence!and!creativity.!The!researchers!found!that!student’s!creative!

abilities!could!be!predicted!by!inhibition,!strengthening!the!idea!that!executive!

function!could!be!a!mechanism!through!which!mindfulness!influences!creativity.!
! Paige!Poure!9!

Notably,!research!has!supported!the!idea!that!mindfulness!meditation!practice!is!

related!to!improved!executive!functions!including!inhibition,!transcendence,!and!

integration,!all!of!which!have!been!associated!with!creativity!(Horan,!2009!&!Teper!

&!Inzlcht,!2012).!Executive!control!in!relation!to!mindfulness!meditation!has!

historically!been!studied!utilizing!the!Stroop!test,!a!color!identification!task!that!

specifically!measures!inhibition!(Teper!&!Inzlicht,!2012).!Another,!relatively!simple,!

measure!of!executive!function!with!a!particular!emphasis!on!inhibition!is!the!FAS!

verbal!fluency!test.!Previous!research!has!shown!that!this!task!is!related!to!several!

key!executive!functions!including!shifting!between!mental!states!and!operations,!

updating,!and!inhibition—similar!to!that!of!the!Stroop!test!(Miyake!et!al.,!2000).!

Updating!refers!to,!“monitoring!and!coding!incoming!informaitno!for!relevance!to!

the!task!at!hand!and!then!appropriately!revising!the!items!held!in!working!memory”!

(Miyake!et!al.,!2000).!

Anxiety!reduction!also!appears!to!be!one!of!the!more!likely!mechanisms.!

Mindfulness!meditation!is!widely!accepted!as!an!effective!method!of!anxiety!

reduction!(Dekeyser!et!al.,!2008).!According!to!a!metaPanalysis!of!over!160!studies,!

one!of!the!primary!ways!that!mindfulness!meditation!improves!general!

psychological!wellPbeing!is!by!reducing!and!managing!anxiety!(Sedlmeier!et!al.,!

2012).!Mindfulness!meditation!has!also!proven!to!be!a!successful!therapeutic!

intervention!for!treating!mood!and!anxiety!disorders!in!clinical!settings.!One!study!

reported!that!90%!of!clinically!anxious!participants!in!a!mindfulness!mediation!

group!experienced!significant!reductions!in!anxiety!(Hoffman!et.!al,!2010).!Recent!

research!suggests!that!low!levels!of!anxiety,!in!turn,!are!helpful!for!creative!thinking!
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(Le!et!al.,!2015).!Researchers!reported!a!positive!correlation!between!mental!health!

and!creativity,!and!emphasized!a!negative!correlation!between!negative!emotional!

states!such!as!anxiety!and!creative!thinking!(Le!et!al.,!2015).!Some!evidence!exists!

that!the!relationship!may!be!biPdirectional.!Dobbins!and!Jaime!(2014)!found!that!

engaging!in!divergent!thinking!tasks!helped!to!reduce!anxiety!in!situations!involving!

art!and!writing!therapy,!suggesting!that!being!creative!may!reduce!anxiety!as!well!as!

vice!versa.!However,!several!studies!clearly!demonstrated!the!beneficial!effects!that!

the!reduction!of!anxiety!has!on!creativity.!Isen!et!al.!(1987)!found!that!

manipulations!that!decrease!anxiety!resulted!in!increased!positive!affect,!and!that!

increased!positive!affect,!in!turn,!facilitated!creativity!(see!also!Dekeyser!et!al.,!

2008).!!

In!the!following!study,!I!examined!the!impact!of!a!brief!mindfulness!

meditation!intervention!on!divergent!and!convergent!forms!of!creativity.!In!keeping!

with!prior!work,!I!hypothesized!that!mindfulness!will!increase!divergent!but!not!

convergent!creativity.!Then,!to!extend!prior!work,!I!examined!whether!the!predicted!

effects!on!creativity!were!mediated!by!the!occurrence!of!decreased!anxiety!and/or!

improved!executive!function.!

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Materials$&$Method$
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Participants:$
!!
Participants!were!recruited!from!the!Butler!University!undergraduate!

student!population.!Students!in!psychology!courses!were!given!the!opportunity!to!

sign!up!for!participation!online!with!SONA,!a!research!pool!system!managed!by!the!
! Paige!Poure!11!

Department!of!Psychology.!The!software!allows!psychology!students!to!obtain!extra!

credit!towards!their!psychology!course!of!choice.!Participants!from!Butler!

University!ranged!in!age!from!18P22,!with!various!class!standings,!gender!and!

ethnicity,!and!were!generally!representative!of!the!Butler!population.!Although!most!

participants!were!recruited!through!SONA,!some!were!recruited!through!wordPofP

mouth.!The!sample!consisted!of!40!students.!!

Procedure:$$
!
Overview.!Participants!were!randomly!assigned!to!a!brief!mindfulness!

intervention!exercise!or!to!a!control!‘sham’!meditation!exercise,!after!which!they!

were!given!a!creativity!assessment.!Anxiety!level!was!assessed!before!the!

meditation.!Following!meditation,!anxiety!level!was!again!measured,!followed!by!an!

assessment!of!executive!function.!(Because!the!executive!function!assessment!was!

relatively!time!consuming,!it!was!only!performed!once.)!After!the!postPmeditation!

assessment!of!anxiety!and!executive!function,!creativity!was!then!assessed!using!

three!different!measures.!Changes!in!anxiety!and!postPintervention!executive!

function!were!examined!to!determine!whether!they!mediated!the!impact!of!

condition!on!creativity.!Participants!were!run!in!groups!of!3P10!people!at!a!time.!

! Baseline$measure.!Before!being!assigned!to!either!the!mindfulness!or!

control!(sham!meditation)!group,!participants!completed!baseline!measures!of!

anxiety!level.!The!anxiety!assessment!consisted!of!the!6Pitem!form!of!the!StatePTrait!

Anxiety!Inventory!(STAI)!(Marteau!&!Becker,!1993).!The!sixPitem!STAI!has!been!

previously!validated!and!was!chosen!for!the!current!study!because!of!its!brevity.!

Because!I!expected!the!effects!of!the!mindfulness!mediation!to!be!fleeting,!I!needed!
! Paige!Poure!12!

measures!that!were!relatively!quick!to!complete.!The!measure!focuses!on!anxiety!

specifically!rather!than!general!negative!affect.!

! Mindfulness$and$control$conditions.!Participants!were!randomly!assigned!

to!either!a!mindfulness!meditation!or!control!condition,!Nmindful!=!25,!Nsham!=!15.!

Because!participants!were!run!in!groups,!and!because!each!group!was!randomly!

assigned!to!condition,!the!sample!sizes!were!not!quite!equivalent!across!the!two!

groups.!Participants!assigned!to!the!mindfulness!condition!listened!to!a!5Pminute!

recording!of!a!mindfulness!meditation,!an!open!monitoring!form!of!meditation!that!

has!been!used!in!prior!work!(A.!O’Malley,!personal!communication,!2015).!The!

meditation!guides!participants!by!asking!them!to!release!stress,!focus!on!breathing,!

and!acknowledge!their!thoughts!and!feelings.!Alternatively,!the!participants!in!the!

control!condition!heard!the!same!voice!give!them!directions!such!as!“simply!think!

about!whatever!comes!to!your!mind,”!and!“let!your!mind!wander!freely”!

periodically!for!5!minutes.!Participants!listened!to!MP3!files!in!an!otherwise!silent!

room.!

Post@meditation$anxiety$measure.!After!listening!to!the!recordings,!all!

participants,!regardless!of!condition,!again!completed!the!sixPitem!STAI!.!(See!

appendix).!

Post@meditation$executive$function$measure.!After!the!anxiety!measure,!

executive!function!was!assessed!using!the!FAS!Verbal!Fluency!test.!This!task!

consisted!of!asking!participants!to!write!as!many!words!beginning!with!F,!A!and!S!as!

they!could!think!of!within!a!specific!span!of!time,!60!seconds!for!each!letter.!Words!
! Paige!Poure!13!

could!not!be!repeated!or!proper!nouns.!To!do!well!on!the!task,!participants!must!

recall!the!earlier!instructions!as!well!as!their!earlier!responses!in!working!memory,!

while!suppressing!irrelevant!responses!and!repetition.!It!was!also!noted!in!scoring!

whether!the!participant!included!inappropriate!or!distasteful!word!responses.!The!

FAS!Verbal!Fluency!test!is!a!widely!used!measure!of!executive!function!(Shao!et!al.,!

2014).!!

Post@meditation$creativity$assessment.!After!their!meditation,!all!participants!

completed!three!creativity!assessments,!two!focused!on!divergent!thinking!and!one!

on!convergent!thinking!(see!appendix).!Greater!effects!were!expected!for!divergent!

thinking,!in!keeping!with!past!work!(Colzato!et!al.,!2012).!However,!convergent!

thinking!was!also!measured!in!order!to!replicate!previous!work.!The!order!in!which!

participants!completed!these!three!assessments!was!randomized!in!order!to!

counterbalance!the!effect!of!varying!time!between!the!meditation!condition!and!

each!task.!

Divergent)thinking)measure.!Alternate!Uses!Task!(AUT).!Participants!were!

asked!to!list!as!many!alternative!uses!for!a!newspaper!as!possible!in!2!

minutes.!The!results!were!scored!according!to!originality!and!fluency.!

Fluency!refers!to!the!raw!number!of!responses,!while!originality!score!was!

determined!by!granting!one!point!for!each!response!and!two!points!for!each!

response!seen!less!than!10%!of!the!time!across!the!sample.!Points!were!then!

summed!to!form!an!originality!score!(Colzato!et!al.,!2012).!

Divergent)thinking)measure:!Real!World!Task!(RWT).!Participants!were!

given!two!minutes!to!generate!as!many!possible!solutions!to!a!‘real!world’!
! Paige!Poure!14!

problem!that!Butler!University!is!experiencing.!The!exact!wording!of!the!

problem!can!be!found!in!the!Appendix.!Solutions!were!scored!as!described!

for!the!Alternate!Uses!Task.!I!developed!this!measure!specifically!for!this!

investigation!as!an!alternative!measure!of!divergent!creativity.!Although!it!

has!not!been!validated,!it!parallels!the!AUT!conceptually.!

Convergent)thinking)measure:!Remote!Associations!Task!(RAT).!

Participants!were!presented!with!a!series!of!three!unrelated!words!(such!as!

widow,!bite,!monkey)!and!asked!to!find!a!common!associate!(spider).!Using!

stimuli!from!prior!studies,!a!test!was!created!including!a!series!of!these!word!

association!questions,!each!of!which!have!a!definite!answer.!The!task!

includes!both!easy!and!difficult!problems.!Participants!were!given!2!minutes!

to!complete!as!many!of!the!15!questions!as!they!were!able!to!in!this!task.!The!

RAT!produces!two!scores:!number!of!answers!and!number!of!correct!

answers!(Colzato!et!al.,!2012).!!

Data$analysis.!All!collected!data!were!analyzed!using!IBM!SPSS!Statistics!for!

Windows!Version!22.0!software.!

Results$

Preliminary$Results$

Before!computing!the!STAI!scores,!reliability!analyses!were!conducted!on!the!

scale!items.!At!baseline!and!especially!at!postPmeditation,!the!items!did!not!correlate!

as!highly!with!each!other!as!would!be!expected,!Cronbach!alpha’s!=!.66!and!.55,!
! Paige!Poure!15!

respectively,!but!in!keeping!with!prior!work,!items!at!each!timepoint!were!averaged!

together!to!form!STAI!scores.!!

For!the!executive!function!measures,!a!composite!fluency!score!was!created!

by!converting!the!three!fluency!scores!into!zPscores,!then!averaging!them!together!

(Cronbach!alpha=!.70).!I!combined!the!fluency!scores!because!they!were!relatively!

highly!correlated,!and!using!a!single!summary!score!of!cognitive!fluency!reduced!the!

number!of!analyses,!thus!reducing!the!likelihood!of!Type!I!error.!Because!only!four!

students!actually!generated!words!indicating!poor!inhibition,!the!inhibition!scores!

were!not!used!in!any!of!the!analyses.!!

Primary$Results$

The!potential!effects!of!mindfulness!meditation!on!creativity!were!

investigated!using!a!series!of!onePway!analysis!of!variance!(ANOVA)!tests,!with!

condition!(mindfulness!meditation!vs.!sham!meditation)!as!the!independent!

variable!and!the!creativity!scores!used!as!the!dependent!variables.!Because!I!did!not!

expect!mindfulness!to!affect!RAT!scores,!which!reflect!convergent!creativity,!I!did!

not!subject!all!six!creativity!scores!to!a!multivariate!analysis!of!variance!(MANOVA).!

Instead,!I!conducted!six!separate!ANOVA’s.!Recall!that!each!measure!of!creativity!

used!in!the!current!study!(i.e.,!the!RAT,!AUT!and!RWT)!produced!two!scores,!thus!

producing!six!dependent!variables.!

The!RAT!was!scored!according!to!both!the!number!of!attempted!answers!and!

the!number!of!correct!answers.!A!onePway!ANOVA!conducted!to!compare!the!effect!

of!mindfulness!meditation!on!the!number!of!attempted!RAT!responses!was!not!

significant,!F!(1,!38)=!.111,!p=.741,!partial!η2=.003,!Mmindful!=!7.24!,!SDmindful!=!3.73,!
! Paige!Poure!16!

Msham!=!6.87,!SDsham=!2.85.!Similarly,!the!effect!on!the!number!of!correct!responses!

to!the!RAT!was!not!significant,!F!(1,!38)=!.142,!p=!.708,!partial!η2=.004,!Mmindful!=!

5.24,!SDmindful!=!3.54,!Msham!=5.67,!SDsham=3.33.!

The!AUT!was!scored!according!to!fluency!(i.e.,!number!of!responses)!as!well!

as!originality!of!responses.!A!onePway!ANOVA!determined!that!the!effect!of!

mindfulness!mediation!on!AUT!fluency!was!not!significant,!F!(1,!38)=!1.803,!p=!.187,!

partial!η2=.05,!Mmindful!=7.00,!SDmindful!=2.92,!Msham!=!8.13,!SDsham=!1.88.!Likewise,!

ANOVA!showed!that!the!effect!of!mindfulness!meditation!on!the!originality!of!

alternative!use!responses!was!not!significant,!F!(1,!38)=!.968,!p=!.332,!partial!η2=.03,!

Mmindful!=!9.60!,!SDmindful!=4.07,!Msham!=!10.73,!SDsham=!2.31.!

The!RWT!was!also!scored!according!to!fluency!and!originality.!A!onePway!

ANOVA!was!used!to!determine!that!there!was!a!significant!effect!of!mindfulness!

meditation!on!the!fluency!of!real!world!task!responses,!F!(1,!38)=!10.763,!p=!.002,!

partial!η2=.22,!Mmindful!=5.20,!SDmindful!=1.85,!Msham!=3.33,!SDsham=1.54.!See!Figure!1.!

It!was!also!shown!that!mindfulness!meditation!had!a!significant!effect!on!the!

originality!of!real!world!task!responses,!F!(1,!38)=!8.291,!p=!.007,!partial!η2=.18,!

Mmindful!=6.16,!SDmindful!=2.37,!Msham=!4.07,!SDsham=1.94.!See!Figure!2.!The!influence!

of!meditation!conditions!on!anxiety!will!be!discussed!in!the!following!section.!!

Mediational$Results$

To!explain!the!differences!between!conditions!on!the!RWT!outcomes,!two!

sets!of!mediational!analyses!were!conducted!using!the!traditional!Baron!and!Kenney!

(1986)!approach.!One!set!focused!on!cognitive!fluency!as!a!potential!mediator!and!

the!other!focused!on!reductions!in!anxiety!as!a!potential!mediator.!Because!anxiety!
! Paige!Poure!17!

was!assessed!both!before!and!after!meditation,!I!used!change!in!anxiety!(i.e.,!time!2!

STAI!score!–!time!1!STAI!score)!as!a!potential!mediator.!Negative!values!for!this!

variable!indicate!reductions!in!anxiety.!Because!the!RWT!fluency!and!originality!

scores!were!highly!correlated!(r!=!.97),!I!chose!to!focus!on!the!RWT!originality!score!

to!simplify!the!analyses!and!reduce!the!number!of!tests,!thereby!reducing!the!risk!of!

Type!I!error.!!

My!hypothesis,!regarding!cognitive!fluency!as!a!mediator,!was!not!supported.!

Although!condition!did!indeed!predict!RWT!originality,!β =!P.42,!t(38)!=P2.88!,!

p=.007,!as!previously!established!in!the!ANOVA!analyses,!condition!did!not!predict!

cognitive!fluency,!β =!P.08,!p=.61,!one!of!the!critical!paths!needed!to!establish!

mediation.!Cognitive!fluency!marginally!predicted!RWT!originality!when!controlling!

for!condition, β =!.27,!p=.06,!but!the!relationship!between!condition!and!RWT!

originality!remained!virtually!unchanged!when!controlling!for!cognitive!fluency, β!=!

P.40,!t(37)!=P2.80,!p=.008,!indicating!lack!of!mediation.!

My!hypothesis,!regarding!reduced!anxiety!as!a!mediator,!was!also!not!

supported.!As!before,!condition!did!predict!RWT!originality,!β =!P.42,!t(38)!=P2.88!,!

p=.007,!but!unlike!before,!condition!did!predict!changes!in!the!hypothesized!

mediator!(i.e.,!anxiety!reduction)!in!the!correct!direction,!β =!.38,!t(39)!=2.52,!p=.02,!

with!the!mindfulness!group!experiencing!a!significantly!greater!reduction!in!

anxiety.!Unfortunately,!reduced!anxiety!did!not!predict!RWT!originality!when!

controlling!for!condition, β =!.24,!p=.13,!and!the!relationship!between!condition!

and!RWT!originality!remained!significant!when!controlling!for!reduced!anxiety,!β =!
! Paige!Poure!18!

P.51,!t(37)!=P3.29,!p=.002.!Thus,!changes!in!anxiety!appear!not!to!account!for!the!

observed!increases!in!creativity!experienced!by!the!mindfulness!group.!!

Discussion$

The!goal!of!this!study!was!to!extend!previous!research!on!the!relationship!

between!mindfulness!meditation!and!creativity,!in!an!attempt!to!identify!the!

mechanism!that!mediates!the!relationship.!Specifically,!I!sought!to!examine!whether!

a!brief!mindfulness!meditation!affected!creativity!level!by!way!of!anxiety!reduction!

or!improved!executive!control.!

The!significantly!higher!RWT!scores!of!the!mindfulness!group!relative!to!the!

control!group!partially!confirmed!my!hypothesis!that!mindfulness!meditation!leads!

to!improved!creativity.!The!RWT!measures!divergent!thinking,!which!refers!to!the!

type!of!creativity!that!involves!generating!new!or!novel!ideas.!Unfortunately,!

mindfulness!did!not!seem!to!affect!AUT!scores,!which!also!rely!on!divergent!

thinking.!The!lack!of!relation!may!have!been!due!to!the!relatively!short!meditation!I!

used.!It!is!also!possible!the!AUT!was!less!interesting!to!participants!compared!to!the!

RWT!and!thus!participants!were!not!particularly!motivated!to!perform!well!on!the!

AUT.!!

!Also!in!line!with!my!hypothesis,!I!did!not!find!a!significant!relationship!

between!mindfulness!meditation!and!the!RAT,!which!measures!convergent!thinking.!

These!findings!parallel!those!of!previous!research,!which!demonstrated!that!openP

monitoring!meditation!promoted!divergent!thinking,!but!not!convergent!thinking!

(Colzato,!2014).!In!their!research,!Colzato!and!his!colleagues!used!either!

participants!who!were!longPterm!meditation!practitioners!with!an!average!of!2.2!
! Paige!Poure!19!

years!of!experience!or!nonPpracticing!participants!who!were!exposed!to!45Pminute!

meditation!sessions!in!their!experimental!protocol.!The!findings!presented!here!

extend!this!past!work!by!demonstrating!impact!on!creativity!in!inexperienced!

mindfulness!meditators!with!a!significantly!shorter!intervention..!This!suggests!the!

potential!role!of!mindfulness!in!improving!the!ability!to!produce!novel!ideas!in!a!

very!accessible!way.!

Though!the!findings!of!the!present!study!confirmed!the!anticipated!finding!

about!the!relationship!between!creativity!and!mindfulness!meditation,!the!testing!of!

my!proposed!mechanisms!of!both!decreased!anxiety!and!increased!executive!

function!did!not!yield!significant!results.!Interestingly,!mindfulness!meditation!did!

result!in!reduced!anxiety,!but!the!findings!here!do!not!support!the!suggestion!that!

reduced!anxiety!can!account!for!increased!creative!processing!in!the!form!of!

divergent!thinking.!This!suggests!that!there!is!a!different!cause!for!the!relationship!

in!question.!However,!as!noted!previously,!the!internal!reliabilities!of!the!6Pitem!

STAI!used!in!the!current!study!were!relatively!low.!Measurement!error!may!have!

reduced!the!validity!of!the!scores!produced!by!these!measures.!Although!the!brevity!

of!the!measure!allowed!me!to!assess!anxiety!twice,!thus!providing!change!scores,!

the!advantages!of!assessing!actual!changes!in!anxiety!were!probably!offset!by!the!

low!reliabilities!of!the!measures.!!

Similarly,!executive!function,!as!operationalized!by!scores!on!the!FAS!verbal!

fluency!test,!did!not!seem!to!mediate!the!relationship!between!creativity!and!

meditation.!Because!the!FAS!verbal!fluency!test!is!commonly!used!to!measure!

executive!function,!these!findings!contradict!previous!findings!linking!creativity!to!
! Paige!Poure!20!

various!executive!functions!including!inhibition!(Benedek!et!al.!2014).!However,!

despite!my!original!hypothesis,!these!results!are!not!entirely!surprising.!Not!allP

previous!research!reports!a!strong!correlation!between!creativity!and!improved!

executive!function.!In!fact,!some!suggests!the!opposite,!especially!in!regards!to!

inhibition.!Carson,!Peterson,!and!Higgins!(2003)!found!that!high!creative!achievers!

exhibit!decreased!latent!inhibition!compared!to!low!creative!achievers.!

Furthermore,!Zabelina!and!Robinson!(2010)!found!that!divergent!thinking!and!

creative!achievement!are!not!related!to!inhibition!as!determined!by!a!Stroop!test,!

but!rather!to!a!more!flexible!form!of!cognitive!control.!It!is!also!worth!noting!that!

the!aspect!of!the!FAS!test!most!related!to!inhibition!(i.e.,!the!inhibition!score),!could!

not!be!used!in!the!current!study!because!so!few!participants!made!inhibition!errors.!

An!additional!factor!that!may!have!affected!the!results!is!that!executive!

function,!as!operationalized!by!the!FAS!test,!was!assessed!only!once,!after!the!

meditation.!This!meant!that!change!scores!in!executive!function!could!not!be!

computed.!In!essence,!I!was!relying!on!random!assignment!to!ensure!that!my!two!

groups!had!equivalent!levels!of!executive!function!at!baseline.!Using!change!scores,!

which!would!have!controlled!for!individual!differences,!might!have!shown!that!

mindfulness!was!indeed!related!to!improved!executive!function,!a!necessary!

condition!for!mediation.!!

Several!other!limitations!of!the!current!research!should!be!noted,!which!

provide!significant!room!for!further!investigation.!First,!I!struggled!to!recruit!

enough!participants!to!reach!the!intended!sample!of!30!per!condition.!This!smaller!

sample!limits!the!statistical!power!of!my!findings.!The!second!limitation!in!
! Paige!Poure!21!

conducting!this!study!was!the!relatively!short!mindfulness!meditation!exercise.!This!

was!used!because!of!time!constraints;!keeping!the!study!relatively!short!increased!

participation!rate.!However,!it!is!possible!that!a!fivePminute!meditation!exercise!was!

not!sufficiently!strong!enough!to!generate!effects!on!the!AUT,!one!of!the!traditional!

measures!of!divergent!creativity.!For!this!reason,!it!may!have!been!more!beneficial!

to!utilize!a!longer!meditation!exercise.!However,!as!noted!earlier,!the!shortness!of!

the!meditation!exercise!could!also!be!viewed!as!a!strength!because!it!was!

sufficiently!powerful!to!cause!increased!creativity,!as!measured!by!the!RWT.!

Another!limitation!is!the!validity!of!the!RWT.!Although!the!RWT!has!strong!

face!validity,!it!is!a!novel!measure!of!divergent!creativity!developed!for!this!

investigation.!Though!conceptually!it!fulfills!the!criteria!for!a!creative!task,!future!

research!should!be!devoted!toward!assessing!its!validity!psychometrically.!In!the!

current!study,!although!the!correlations!are!not!reported!in!the!Results,!RWT!scores!

correlated!positively!with!AUT!and!RAT!scores,!but!the!correlations!were!not!

significant!or!only!marginally!so.!These!findings!are!suggestive,!and!given!the!

measure’s!direct!application!to!real!world!problems,!the!RWT!is!worth!pursuing!in!

further!work.!Finally,!an!additional!means!for!measuring!executive!control,!such!as!

the!Trail!Making!Task!or!Stroop,!would!have!likely!yielded!more!easily!interpretable!

results!and!helped!to!clarify!some!of!the!ambiguity!about!the!role!of!inhibition!in!

creativity!(Tombaugh,!2004!&!Teper!&!Inzlicht,!2012).!

Generally,!my!findings!confirm!a!significant!relationship!between!

mindfulness!meditation!and!creativity,!but!leave!several!questions!unanswered!

about!the!mechanism!modulating!this!relationship.!Therefore,!future!research!on!
! Paige!Poure!22!

this!topic!should!focus!on!determining!this!unknown!mechanism.!One!possibility!for!

determining!this!mechanism!would!be!to!begin!by!identifying!a!neural!basis!and!

then!work!to!find!a!cognitive!mechanism!based!on!those!findings.!There!is!little!

research!available!on!the!neuroscience!of!creativity,!but!there!is!a!distinct!possibility!

that!it!could!strengthen!our!understanding!of!executive!function!(Haier!&!Jung,!

2008).!This!could!be!especially!helpful!in!clarifying!the!role!of!executive!control!and!

the!prefrontal!cortex!with!respect!to!creativity.!While!some!researchers!have!found!

increased!prefrontal!activity!in!highly!creative!people!(Horan,!2009),!others!suggest!

a!less!centralized!network!or!even!diminished!prefrontal!activity!leads!to!increased!

creative!output!(Braun!et!al.,!1997).!The!results!of!neuroimaging!studies!regarding!

creativity!do!not!converge!and!beg!for!more!research!(Haier!&!Jung,!2008).!If!the!

results!of!further!neuroimaging!research!indicate!activation!of!a!certain!region!such!

as!the!prefrontal!cortex,!such!findings!could!provide!insights!into!the!mechanism,!or!

more!likely!mechanisms,!responsible!for!mindfulnessPinduced!changes!in!creativity.!!

Conclusion$

! In!my!investigation!into!the!relationship!between!mindfulness!meditation!

and!creativity,!mindfulness!promoted!divergent!thinking!on!one!measure!of!

creativity,!the!RWT.!While!mindfulness!meditation!also!led!to!reduced!anxiety,!

changes!in!anxiety!did!not!predict!higher!scores!on!the!RWT,!indicating!that!anxiety!

did!not!function!as!a!mediator.!Similarly,!executive!control,!as!measured!by!the!FAS!

test,!also!did!not!function!as!a!mediating!variable.!Although!the!current!study!failed!

to!shed!light!on!the!underlying!processes,!the!results!highlight!the!role!of!
! Paige!Poure!23!

mindfulness!in!fostering!creativity,!particularly!the!type!of!divergent!thinking!that!

can!be!used!to!solve!real!world!problems.!

! !
! Paige!Poure!24!

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Alternate!Uses!TaskP!You!have!2!minutes!to!come!up!with!as!many!possible!
alternate!uses!as!you!can!for!the!given!object.!For!example,!if!the!object!were!“brick”!
you!might!list!doorstop,!paperweight,!step,!etc..!Responses!will!be!scored!according!
to!originality!and!fluency!(how!many!responses).!!
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List!as!many!alternative!uses!for!a!newspaper!as!you!can.!
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Real!World!TaskP!!
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Butler!University’s!campus!includes!several!important!amenities,!however!students!
without!cars!have!trouble!accessing!necessary!items!such!as!groceries,!school!
supplies,!and!medication.!While!the!bookstore!offers!some!of!these!necessary!items,!
there!is!typically!a!less!expensive!and!more!extensive!selection!elsewhere.!How!can!
this!problem!be!solved?!!
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You!have!2!minutes!to!develop!as!many!detailed!solutions!as!you!can.!
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! Paige!Poure!31!

Remote!Associations!Task:!!
Look!at!the!three!words!and!find!a!fourth!word!related!to!all!three.!Answer!as!many!
as!you!can!in!2!minutes;!feel!free!to!skip!to!ones!you!know.!
For!example:!!
blue!cake!cottage—cheese!!
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1. rocking!!!!wheel!!!!high! ! ! ________________________!

2. night!!!!wrist!!!!stop! ! ! ! ________________________!

3. puppy!!!!true!!!letter! ! ! ! ________________________!!

4. sense!!!!courtesy!!!!place! ! ! ________________________!

5. river!!!!note!!!!account! ! ! ________________________!

6. dust!!!!cereal!!!!fish! ! ! ! ________________________!!

7. poison!!!!league!!!!creeping! ! ! ________________________!

8. right!!!!cat!!!!carbon! ! ! ! ________________________!

9. dress!!!!dial!!!!flower! ! ! ! ________________________!

10. property!!!!moral!!!!price! ! ! ________________________!

11. sake!!!!pet!!!!nick! ! ! ! ________________________!

12. sea!!!!home!!!!stomach! ! ! ________________________!

13. cracker!!!!fly!!!!fighter!! ! ! ________________________!

14. dream!!!!break!!!!light!! ! ! ________________________!

15. ruby!!!!glass!!!!bunny! ! ! ! ________________________!

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! Paige!Poure!32!

Answers!to!RAT!items!
1. chair!!
2. watch!!
3. love!!
4. common!!
5. bank!!
6. bowl!!
7. ivy!!
8. carbon!!
9. sun!!
10. value!!
11. name!!
12. sick!!
13. fire!!
14. day!!
15. slippers!!
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! Paige!Poure!33!

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Figure!1.!Participants!who!listened!to!the!mindfulness!meditation!(Mmindful!=5.20,!
SDmindful!=1.85)!scored!significantly!higher!on!RWT!fluency!than!those!who!listened!
to!the!sham!meditation!(Msham!=3.33,!SDsham=1.54).!
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! Paige!Poure!34!

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Figure!2.!Participants!who!listened!to!the!mindfulness!meditation!(Mmindful!=6.16,!
SDmindful!=2.37)!scored!significantly!higher!on!RWT!originality!than!those!who!
listened!to!the!sham!meditation!(Msham=!4.07,!SDsham=1.94).!
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